*EPF107 10/06/2003
Text: U.S., Taiwan Companies Penalized for Violating Export Rules
(Department of Commerce October 6 press release) (310)

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced October 6 that Trane Export LLC of LaCrosse, Wisconsin and Trane Taiwan Distribution Limited of Taipei, Taiwan have agreed to pay civil penalties to settle charges related to the illegal export of commercial air-conditioning machinery in violation of the Export Administration Regulations.

Following is the text of the press release:

(begin text)

Wisconsin and Taiwan Companies Settle Charges of Unlawful Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today that Trane Export LLC, of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and Trane Taiwan Distribution Limited, of Taipei, Taiwan, has agreed to pay a $27,000 civil penalty to settle charges in connection with the export of commercial air-conditioning machinery in violation of the Export Administration Regulations.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that Trane Export LLC shipped commercial air-conditioning machinery to Realtek Semiconductors Co. Ltd. (Realtek) in Taiwan. At the time, Realtek was subject to a BIS denial order that prohibited U.S. exporters from making such shipments to Realtek. BIS also charged that Trane Taiwan Distribution Limited provided maintenance services on the air-conditioning machinery shipped by Trane Export LLC to Realtek, including the use of proprietary U.S. origin service manuals and information, in violation of the terms of the denial order against Realtek.

BIS controls and licenses exports and reexports of dual-use commodities, technology, and software for reasons of national security, foreign policy, nonproliferation, regional stability, and short supply. Criminal penalties and administrative sanctions can be imposed for violations of the Export Administration Regulations.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Lisa Prager commended the efforts of Special Agents Diane Zedde and Ronald Orzel of BIS's Chicago Field Office for their work in this investigation.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents